As I mentioned in my first report, the Swallow-tailed Bee-eaters really fascinated me and I saw it as a challenge to get a least one good photo of them. Now that I figured out how they “operate”, I got a few nice shots on this last day in the park.
Yip I know, a lot of pix of the same birds , but aren’t they just gorgeous!

The tail that gave them their name.

A Purple Roller

While taking photos of the Roller, another vehicle stopped and told us about a leopard in a tree a few kilometres on. We have never been people that race after sightings; believe that if we are meant to see something it will still be there by the time we get there…..in any case, if you race, you might miss something more special along the way. We casually drove on and I first stopped to yet again get another shot of “them”.

Jumbo wrote:The next morning when we rolled up the flaps, it wasn’t even a minute before this guy came to sit on the balcony.

And then he did this…..

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And this.

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We are not 100% sure about its ID. It looks like a Chat Flycatcher. What bugs us, is that when it goes and sits, it flickers its wings as Sasol describe the Spotted Flycatcher does. Will appreciate help with the ID, I still have a lot of pix of it.

Including pic because it was so long ago

Sorry Jumbo. I know I said Chat Flycatcher (Groot Vlieëvanger) before. Never looked at the pics of the tail and missed the bit about it flicking its tail.

It is in fact as Peter Betts said, the Familiar Chat (Gewone Spekvreter)Quote from Roberts VII

First I have to tell you about our “wonderful” luck with leopards. We are in Kruger at least once a month and our last leopard sighting in Kruger was on the S25, June 2003. Our actually last leopard sighting, were during our Kgalagadi trip last year….came to drink at the Grootkolk waterhole. It is really weird the fact that we do not see leopards in Kruger, a mere 100 km from our home, and have to travel the odd 3000 km (return) to Kgalagadi to see this sly creature!

Ok, so we were told there was a leopard in a tree a distance on, but we took the drive there slow, stopping for bee-eaters etc. When we got to the spot where the leopard supposedly would have been, we saw nothing…we thought it was the spot because we could see from the tracks in the road that cars stopped there ….great thing about this gravel roads!

We scanned the area, but nothing. Then the jackals started crying on the other side of the dune…they were very excited. Eventually they stopped and came over the dune, running back to the riverbed. Other tourist stopped and asked us if we are merely looking at the jackals. We said “yes”, because we were not certain that this was the right spot where the leopard was, and we believed that if it was, the leopard has moved on over the dune. Just as these people were pulling away, my SO noticed something moving against the dune a distance on.

Very relaxed with our presence, the leopard strolled down the dune and walked on the verge for a small distance

He then went into the road. The people in the other vehicle were not aware of the leopard at first…they were looking at something else (also a great sighting, will tell later) I flashed my lights and only then they saw the leopard in the road…can imagine their surprise, looking at something in the tree and woeps, next moment leopard in the road.

The leopard then made his way towards the Gemsbokplein waterhole

Where there were of cause Gemsbok. The light on this side was very bad for photos and we are not yet clued up with all the settings on our camera…took everything on automatic. Unfortunately these photos did not come out that great.

The gemsbok were very cautious of the leopard.

The leopard then had a nice long drink at the waterhole

After its drink it strolled around the area at the waterhole and marked its territory

We at this stage thought it is probably going to disappear over the dune on that side. However, it turned around and proceeded back to the road under the watchful eyes of the gemsbok.

At this stage our camera battery went flat….some serious activity in the car to get hold of the spare battery. The leopard came straight to a dead tree next the road. Here continued his marking
While taking these photos my SO started laughing…said he just got a shot of a leopard carrying a tree.

After this the leopard, for the second time, crossed the road in front of our car.

On the other side the light was much better for photos and the sunlight highlighted his gorgeous skin.

As he made his way up the dune… I waited, and waited… and got his last pose.

On page 9 you asked for confirmation on a Greater Kestrel. Don't know if anybody ever answered you.
Yes, it is. Greater Kestrel has got a light coloured eye (others' are dark) and the black markings on the back are bolder than that of the confusing species.

Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.Albert Einstein

While the leopard was “carrying’ his tree, we heard the sounds of a crow and some other screeching coming from a tree close by. We did not look up for obvious reasons…leopard right next to road . After the leopard disappeared we did look to see what all the commotion inside the tree was all about. Three Verreaux’s Eagle-Owls This was very puzzling…the screeching sound they made sounded exactly like that of a Bran Owl!?! Very strange, I suppose it is their warning call…something like that.

Think I had a teacher that looked like this :

Springbuck having a siesta near Auchterlonie

Wazup with these Springbucks and mirrors?

Also near Auchterlonie, this Black-headed Herons got himself a gecko lunch

O, and at last our Kalahari visit was complete with the sighting of meerkat.

A real “bum shot”

In true Jumbo fashion our trip came to an end with yet another snake sighting. This Mole Snake was frozen in this position…..obviously waiting for something to pass by.

Sightings wise, this was one of our best trips. The things that stands out in our minds are all the owls we saw, the cape cobra was a brilliant sighting, the first Bat-eared Foxes that was so relaxed and then of cause the leopard and the Grootkolk lion. Our first experience of Urikaruus is also a highlight…a great camp! (Thanks KatyDU )